If you will be arriving on Monday, registration is from 4-6pm at the Sangha House. There will be training for those who have been assigned sesshin service positions, so be sure to arrive on time in case you need to give or receive training.

If you will be joining sesshin in progress, please make any necessary calls before your arrival at the Monastery. If you are travelling by car, use the North Gate entrance as the main gate will be locked and enter the building through the rear door near the kitchen. The registration desk is located in the Sangha House. Dorm and meal crew assignments will be listed on the information sheet posted on the bulletin board near the kitchen. If you arrive during a zazen period, first get settled into your room and then take a seat on the bench in the zendo hallway. You may enter the zendo during kinhin and take your place for zazen. If this will be your first sesshin at ZMM, you will receive an orientation at 7pm in the Buddha Hall.

In coming to sesshin, you are entering a monastic cloister that will enable you to be undistracted in your study of Zen. Before you arrive, it’s imperative to take care of all family, personal and work responsibilities that may require your attention so you can step away from them for the duration of sesshin. Please make sure that all necessary communication is done beforehand as cell phones and other electronic devices may not be used once sesshin begins. We also strongly urge you to increase your daily zazen in the days before sesshin begins. If you are a late morning riser, we also suggest you begin getting up earlier so you can more smoothly enter sesshin.

It is our hope that your experience of sesshin be an encouraging and positive one. Due to the intensive nature of sesshin, it is essential that your commitment to fully engage the training is clear, and that you plan to stay until the retreat concludes on Sunday afternoon. If you have any questions, be sure to contact me before your arrival. We look forward to having you join us.

Closed: Please call (845) 688-2228 if you would like to join the waiting list.

Characterized by silence and deep introspection, sesshin is recommended to anyone who is sincerely interested in experiencing intensive Zen training. We wake up each day before dawn to begin a schedule that includes 7 to 10 hours of zazen, chanting services, formal silent meals in the zendo (oryoki), work practice and talks by the teachers and senior students. Sesshin is an opportunity to receive personal guidance in private interviews with the teachers, draw from the tremendous strength of people practicing together and experience the deep stillness that lies within each one of us. Because sesshin is a very intensive retreat, those wishing to attend should first complete an Introduction to Zen Training Retreat. Those who have never participated in sesshin before or who are newer to Zen practice should plan on beginning with the Friday-Sunday portion of the retreat. Most sesshins may be joined in progress as late as Friday evening. First-time sesshin participants should call the Training Office to set up a “sesshin interview” as part of the registration process.